I ♥ POMPEII 2014

       
        I saw the new “Pompeii “movie  last week . The one that’s been getting such a keel-hauling from North  American critics. Initial business isn’t that brisk either. So how about I accentuate the positive here?  I had a terrific time watching it. Of course, I grew up during peplum’s hey-day,  biblical epics being to the 50’s what “Star Wars” and its successors were to a later generation.  Movie  juggernauts , rewriting  the rules  about  just how much money a picture could generate.  Pyramids, obelisks, golden barges, armies  of  charioteers , gilded chambers full of Cleopatra-coiffed dancing girls –all cascading round the world in color and Cinemascope.  Often as not, accompanied by some degree of  bible-thumping. And before that wave had even stopped cresting,  the  low-budget European copycat  films  marched into view  – bringing the Steve  Reeves/Hercules/Maciste  craze that boomed on  into the mid-60’s.  By then,  I’d  developed what  turned  out to be a lifelong taste for the genre.  But even before the 70’s arrived, sword and sandal movies just seemed to fade away.  I guess audience fatigue has to set in at some point.  And film-makers simply couldn’t find a way to refresh the genre.  Plus the biblical epics suffered from a widespread sea change in North American attitudes toward religion. Audiences no longer seemed to want  their  entertainment  infused with scriptural “thou shalt not’s”.  Angelic choirs, soft-focus shots of Jesus’ extended  hand  and a  bottom line of “because God-said so” just didn’t cut it anymore, wonder-wise.  As picture costs escalated, producers gravitated toward less opulent subjects. And most of the public didn’t seem to miss their regular movie visits to antiquity. Older ones could watch them on TV, usually at Easter and Christmas.  And  youngsters  didn’t seem to care that much. If they wanted enlightenment,  they’d  probably head  to Yoda or Bart Simpson,  not Moses.

                The lavish (and compelling)  Egyptian sequences in 1999’s hit “The Mummy”  played a big part in that film’s success. And when “Gladiator” (a movie I view with more admiration than affection)   became a surprise smash the year after, many wondered whether the genre was about to make a comeback.  And it did – sort of.  “Troy” and “Alexander” went into pre-production immediately. And when they were released in 2004, both hit my sweet spot.  Each a starry mega-budget  affair  presented without biblical baggage.  And both benefited from the technical advances that had come with the years. Movie-makers could bring antiquity to life in ways hardly imaginable before.  In North America, I think “Troy” has the reputation of being a  box-office dud . True, it only made 133 million domestically (on a 175 million dollar budget). But, abroad, where the genre seems to retain a much stronger hold on audiences, it racked up an additional 364 million – bringing the final tally awfully close to half a billion. No, “Troy” was definitely a hit.   Not so “Alexander”.  Its diffused structure and often eccentric dramatic priorities didn’t go down well in North America.  But, again, foreign audiences rallied to the rescue - ultimately  responsible for nearly  80% of the film’s s $167 million gross.  As I said, I like ”Alexander”  a lot.  The entry into Babylon sequence, for example,  is pure peplum intoxication.  And as long as Oliver Stone kept putting out new director’s cuts and re-cuts on DVD, I kept buying them.

                In the years since, we’ve seen “Agora”, set in Roman Alexandria and nicely realized, but more philosophical drama than sword and sandal movie. I had high hopes for “300”. And the picture was a hit. But, for me, both it and  its quasi- sequel “ Immortals”  were joyless downers ,saddled with an aggressively macho  video game sensibilty .  I wasn’t much into “Clash of the Titans” in the 80’s and the 2010 remake seemed just as hollow. “Prince of Persia” turned out on the bland side (and I’m generally a Gyllenhaal fan). So I was more than ready for a new fix of full-on peplum action. Which brings us to this year’s “Pompeii”

                Aside from my genre bias, there were a couple of other reasons I was pre-disposed to like this picture. The director is Paul W.S. Anderson and he’s responsible for a couple of other 21^st century movies that are favorites of mine.  “AVP: Alien vs Predator” offers a  fantastic swirl of elements I relish (Antarctica, Aztec pyramids , sci-fi, sections photographed in sepia and Sanaa Lathan). And  his delirious steampunk version of “The Three Musketeers” climaxes with airborne galleons battling it out in the skies over 17^th century Paris. Now, that’s entertainment!  In addition,  “Pompeii”’s  co-produced by Germany’s Constantin Films, an entity I’m glad to see still chugging along.  Because they were responsible for the Winnetou films of the 60’s - Euro-westerns  that  located the starpower  in Lex Barker and Pierre Brice, while  exploiting incredibly majestic (mainly Yugoslavian) locations to eye-tickling advantage. Even the soundtracks are terrific, the Martin Bottcher scores achieving a kind of James -Bond –meets- the- Old- West feel that shouldn’t have worked but did. The best of the Winnetou  films provide an endearing cinematic expression of Karl May’s imaginary American West, one where the Indians were usually the heroes. The movies aren’t much known in America – but were massive in most other parts of the world, their success eventually ushering in the Spaghetti Western era.  I’m super fond of them. So, for one reason or another, I approached “Pompeii” in a pretty favorable state of mind.

                And, as far as I’m concerned, the movie came through. I love the production design; it gave  me  a  fully engaging movie antiquity experience. For much of the time I felt I was inside a glorious Ancient World  toy-box, drinking in every sight in every direction. And this “Pompeii” ’s awash with  British accents, an ancient epic convention I’m quite on board with.  These stage-trained Brits just seem to know how to lend zing and gravitas to a peplum scenario.  Nobody ever breaks the spell with an  “Are you okay?” or a “This I didn’t see coming” I certainly didn’t bemoan the lack of “comic” relief either.  The fewer  slapstick  dwarfs and numbskull sidekicks the better, in my books. And there wasn’t a single pre-teen with attitude to be seen.

                Kit Harington (who’s  from “Game of Thrones”, I hear) makes a perfectly appropriate peplum hero. Good to look at, with an excellent voice and muscles to match. Some party-poopers have called him out for being too small (at five foot seven) to make a credible gladiator. Especially as the action sequences  match him against some much bigger guys. But size doesn’t necessarily trump speed, agility and convincing  dexterity with the weapons on hand.  And Harington’s definitely got all that. He’s even good with the horses.  His character, Milo comes with a full stock of meaningful looks – baleful and defiant ones when oppressors are oppressing. And longing ones aimed exclusively at moon-faced  Cassia (Emily Browning), an entirely serviceable Juliet –staunch and sweet – to his Romeo.

                 I’d have maybe hoped for a little more projection from Jared Harris, cast as her father ( he never  seems fully present,  just a little too ambivalent about his character’s ambivalence).  And – in the Carrie-Anne Moss role (as Cassia’s mother )– I think I’d have preferred  a different actress ( one with a more dynamic presence or more commanding voice) . Where are you, Connie Nielsen?  But the rest of the supporting cast is pretty much on point. With special nods to Jessica Lucas and Dalmar Abuzeid,  both carrying off their sideline loyal -servant assignments with nice levels of skill and watchability – plus great voices.   More prominently on hand is Kiefer Sutherland ,  (he’s  the Billy Zane  villain in this particular “Titanic” and provides lots of fun, dishing out a generous serving of scenery-chewing, all of it quite nicely calibrated). Best of all, though, is Adewale Akkinnuoye-Agbaje, an actor I remember mainly for his work on the TV series “Oz”. In “Pompeii”, he plays Atticus,  an archetypal peplum character - the older, more seasoned fellow gladiator  our hero is scheduled to fight to the death. Understandably wary of each other initially, the two eventually bond, in the end standing together against the bad guys.  Playing a stock character can be tricky.  But when an actor does it really well, he  taps into the mythic power of the archetype, showing,  in the process, just why it endures.  This actor’s got a real presence – and not just because he’s a very big guy. There’s a natural eloquence and subtlety to his work, a convincing sense of not just experience but also wisdom. The film’s not without its mild surprises. As when Milo and Atticus are hauled off to a society party , then made to stand like statues on slightly raised platforms  while passing guests casually ogle and grope them. Definitely not something I’m used to seeing  in my peplum movies– but I’ll bet this kind of stuff must have happened. Milo’s a bit shell-shocked here, his composure further blasted because the girl he loves happens to be at this party, a situation that, not too surprisingly , embarrasses them both.  Atticus , meanwhile just  flashes an  I’m –above- all -this  grin and goes with the flow. Atticus’  role also calls for  lots of  prowess in the fighting arena.  Which turns out to be no problem for Triple A.  I mean this guy’s no twenty-something but when the action gets going in earnest, he’s pretty amazing - dominant, exciting, fast-moving.  As a matter of fact, the scenes of gladiatorial combat in “Pompeii” are all pretty awesome.  Edited not to confuse -  but to clarify what’s happening.  It’s always great when you feel you know what’s going on in a multi-character fight scene. No chaotic “Transformers”-style micro-editing   here. Harington and Akkinnuoye –Agbage are terrific in their individual action moments but they really score  in the sequences where they’re choreographed and co-ordinated together. The climactic  battle, with these two pitted against an arena full of opponents, is  so well put together,  performed and presented that I was almost giddy watching it. This is one of the reasons I keep going to sword and sandal movies. In the hopes of  seeing  spectacular action sequences like this. When it works – and this one does -  it’s a heady, immersive experience.

                But, of course, for me the whole movie’s just that. I love to look at the columns and the costumes and the sheer antique pageantry of a solid peplum.  And  I haven’t the slightest problem with CGI. Finally the movies can give us images they could only hint at in the old days. Egypt, Rome, Babylon – all the usual suspects – can rise again as never before. And I can’t wait for Rider Haggard fantasies like “She” and “The World’s Desire” to finally get the cinematic treatments they deserve. The roaming camera in “Pompeii”  kept propelling  me from one tantalizing sight to another so quickly I could barely keep up. True, the story played out most of the usual peplum rituals but it played them out engagingly. I was quite willing to meet the picture half-way and get caught up in the lovers’ plight. And I certainly felt swept up in the big gladiatorial contest. 
                At this point in the picture, I’m enjoying myself so much  I’ve  practically forgotten the main course on the menu:  Vesuvius’ eruption and Pompeii’s destruction.  It almost seems to come too soon. But when it comes, it occupies the full final third of the film.  Audiences are so spoiled nowadays when it comes to special effects. I always approach effects- driven spectacles by trying to put myself in the place of a 50’s audience  –imagining  how they’d have reacted.  Of course, the fact that I actually was part of the 50’s audience  makes that particular mindset pretty achievable.  I  don’t  think I’ve ever seen more spectacular scenes of movie destruction than the ones Roland Emmerich cooked up a few seasons back for“2012”. Yet not only did those effects not win an Oscar. They weren’t even nominated. But, if that film had somehow been beamed onto the movie screen of the local Bijou in, say, 1953, a lot of people  would simply think they were witnessing - I don't know - some sort of vision from another universe, another plane. I suspect there’d be everything from nervous breakdowns to religious experiences in the auditorium.  Nowadays, viewers just take the visual miracles in stride.  Is that all there is?   Today’s  CGI’s masters  can devise – and destroy -  dazzling fantasy worlds with a skill – and scale -  never  before  achievable.  “Pompeii”’s  a prime example. I think of MGM’s San Francisco earthquake, Fox’s Chicago Fire,  DeMille’s parting of the Red Seas, the cataclysms of the Earthquake/Towering Inferno Era. They’re all such small potatoes compared to what effects wizards can  create now.  “Pompeii”s catastrophe is  a thing of frightening beauty .  A John Martin painting come to roaring life.

 I love the aerial perspectives that sweep us from one part of the action to another. Towering columns, temples and villas take on a new kind of splendour as they topple into Dolby-ized destruction everywhere you look. Director Anderson distributes his players all across the fiery landscape. It takes skill to make the disaster actually seem populated.   Simultaneously epic and intimate. But he and his team do it.  My eyes gobbled up every one of those spectacular fireballs that shot across the screen, inevitably erupting in photogenic explosions. Watching a mammoth fireball  from the comfort and safety of a movie theatre seat – now that’s a win/win situation. Anderson’s god’s eye camera sweeps excitingly  up and down streets, over hills and plains . Just look at some of the photos here. Aren’t they fantastic? I mean, grand Roman galleys even  get sucked into the web of destruction.  Fireballs shoot out from Vesuvius over the water and hit vessels desperately trying to outrun the apocalypse.


 And when nature’s  upheaval  creates a gigantic tidal wave, it’s totally worth the price of admission just to see the Roman ships swept onto the land,  pursuing crowds who no longer know where to flee.  And I even saw it in 3D! If none of this sounds impressive, if the stills don’t suggest  something  worth marveling over - well, then, by all means don’t go to “Pompeii”.  But you and I probably can’t be friends. If you do go, though, you might just see me there. ‘Cause I’m going back. And when the DVD comes out, I’m getting it. Definitely .